Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Thursday that Prime
Minister Ahmed Qurei would head to Gaza on Friday to meet officials over the
situation after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's health deteriorated.
Shaath told reporters that he would head to Gaza Thursday night to prepare
for Qurei's arrival.
Qurei would attend a meeting, grouping 13 Palestinian factions, including
Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and
the Islamic Jihad movement (Holy War), Shaath said.
He reiterated that reports from Percy Military Training Hospital showed that
Arafat was still alive.
A Palestinian source, who spoke in condition of anonymity, said that the
meeting would discuss the situation in the West Bank and Gaza after a possible
death of Arafat.
The source said the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was making efforts
not to leave any political vacuum after Arafat's death, which may cause chaos
and anarchy in the Palestinian territories.
